Bitter on the Tongue
by phoenix-dogs
Summary: AU where Diego wakes up from his coma to find that Mia survived Redd White's attack, but got amnesia as a result. Features Miego and Mia/Phoenix.


A smooth, bitter smell pervaded Diego's nostrils. Opening his eyes slowly, he found it difficult to focus on anything. The light was so bright, but he wanted to see, he wanted to fight.

The last thing he remembered was collapsing in the cafeteria of the courthouse after meeting with the devil. How, how had he made it here in a… was he in a hospital? Wandering fingers touched blindly at the tubes in his arms and one resting on his face, not pulling or frightened, just confused. He blinked. It had been a few minutes already, it was no longer outrageously bright in the room, but why couldn't he see? He couldn't see, he wanted to know what was happening. He wanted to know why his fingertips felt like they were burning and his joints were rusted over. The tongue in his mouth felt like shag carpet when it dragged over his sandpaper teeth.

Diego tried to talk, yell, scream, anything, but not much got out. It felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. So, instead, he pressed every button on the side of the bed, jolting up, down, turning the tv on and off, and finally he got one that created a faint red blur that was comforting to see. The nurse call button, exactly what he needed. Sitting back, he sighed, drinking in the oxygen the tube in his nose was providing.

It was only a few moments until he saw movement in his vision. A blur entered from the right hand side of his vision, shades of white, some kind of hospital staff. They moved to his left side where they picked up something from the bedside table, touched it to their mouth, and set it down again. At that moment, another blur came in, and a feminine voice from the right side of the room said, "Oh, doctor, good, you're here. I suppose you saw the light before me?"

Another feminine voice came from the blur next to Diego. "I was printing his charts when…" She paused. "The light?"

The voice from the door, must have been a nurse, said, "His nurse call light came on! We assumed he'd woken up!"

The doctor moved again. There was a long pause. In a hoarse whisper, she said, "Oh my god."

Diego's eyebrows furrowed on instinct. Through deep breaths, he asked, "What's that supposed to mean, doc?"

Several things had to be explained to Diego. He'd been poisoned, the same poison that he let Terry Fawles ingest on the stand. Lots of things had changed - he'd been asleep for five years. The damage to his nervous system left his hair white like snow and he was now legally blind. They had a mask they could give to him that would allow him to see by changing wavelengths or something. He hadn't paid a lot of attention because the very first thing they had to explain was why he'd had both of his legs amputated above the knee. The doctor gave some kind of hoopla about the nerves and apoptosis and just science-y baloney. Both of his parents had passed two years after he fell into his coma. But Mia… She'd stopped visiting just a few months ago. The doctor, pausing, said, "We can call her for you, we have her number on record. Would you like that?"

Diego didn't really know. This sense of despair had pressed down upon him, a man who could no longer get out of bed without help, with the thought that Mia Fey might no longer want him. He felt like it was both yesterday and a lifetime ago that they were happily living together and working together, enjoying days and nights together, working together to get vengeance for her mother. He remembered so many things about the lovely Mia Fey and he wanted nothing more than to see her, but how could he face her when she'd given up hope?

In the end, he nodded. It wouldn't hurt anything - it _couldn't_ hurt anything.

* * *

He'd fallen asleep by the time Mia had shown up. When he woke up, Diego flinched at the weight on his face. The mask was definitely going to be something to get used to. Then he heard whispering - Mia had just whispered, she was in the room, but… what was the emotion that slipped off of her tongue?

"I think he's waking up."

Diego's head turned to his left and he saw Mia sitting in one of the cushy chairs that had previously been pushed into the corner. Her hair was up and her eyes seemed older, but she was in jeans and a sweatshirt, and _god was it good to see her._ A man sat beside her, in a blue suit with… was he not wearing a tie? The suit wasn't even ironed, hell, it looked like he'd been wearing it for a week without washing it. What a douche. Mia could do better.

Diego smirked. "How's life, kitten?"

Mia had a pained expression on her face. Leaning forward, she held Diego's hand and spoke quietly, "Mr. Armando, I suffered a head injury several months ago and lost several years of memory. It's a miracle they had my phone number on record here as your next of kin, but I don't know how we knew each other. I've been trying to piece together my life, Mr. Armando, and now I will know exactly who you are." A smile graced her tired face. "Please, would you tell me, Mr. Armando?"

Diego took a deep breath. He could feel old memories pressing down on his body. Would the weight break the bed? Or maybe just his body? It was already broken enough as it is - why did this have to happen? He wished for nothing more than a cup of coffee and the ability to get up and smack the guy with the blue suit. He had his arms crossed and was turned away from him.

Diego pursed his lips and thought. "Well, would you like to start at the beginning? What do you already know?"

Mia smiled back. "There were a lot of pictures of us together in my apartment. Some of us vacationing, some of us at work at Mr. Grossberg's law firm."

"I had a journal, you know. You could've just looked, kitten, if it would've helped you."

The man in the blue suit finally piped up, saying in a bored tone, "That's what I suggested, but she thought it was an invasion of privacy."

Diego grimaced. "I'm sorry, who are you again?"

Mia, a scared look crossing her features, sat back and laughed nervously. "Mr. Armando, this is my boyfriend and protege, Phoenix Wright. Well, not so much of a protege now, ha ha…" She looked off awkwardly before adding, "He was the second to find me after I was attacked and got my sister proven innocent."

With zero enthusiasm, Diego replied, "Well, isn't that wonderful news?"

Phoenix turned to face him and gave a sour look. Diego, unfazed, turned his attention back towards Mia. "Kitten, do you want me to start from the beginning or do you want to wait until the baby over here finishes a nap?"

Mia turned to Phoenix. "Phoenix, would you go and get some coffee for me?"

Phoenix glared at her and stood up, stalking off without a word. Mia sat upright, hands in her lap.

"You gonna explain that guy to me? I know Mia Fey can do way better than an asshole like that." Diego felt anger seeping up from his stomach at the thought of Phoenix having the privilege to lay in bed next to her, to touch her soft skin.

Mia whispered, "I found out I was pregnant yesterday."

Diego felt the proverbial rug pull from underneath him. "You're… It's _his?_"

Mia nodded. "It wasn't how I planned my life to go at all. None of this. Even though the last solid memory I have from before my attack was going drinking with a college buddy of mine to celebrate graduation, I know even then that none of this was supposed to happen. I was supposed to find the truth behind my mom and show my sister that there's really good in this world!" She looked up at him, eyes burning with tears. "I already had a little sister to raise, dammit! I'm not ready to be a mom!"

Diego simply nodded. He felt tired. He was so tired.

Mia wiped a few accumulating tears and looked back up, laughing sheepishly. "I'm sorry. You probably don't really care. You just woke up from a coma, I mean, there's more important things than what's happening in my life. Go ahead, then, please, Mr. Armando. Please start from the beginning."

Diego swallowed back a retort - _Of course I care, Kitten! I've always cared!_ Instead, he began.

"When I first met you, we were both working for old Grossberg. Did you actually meet Grossberg? Always talked about his damn hemorrhoids. Disgusting. Anyway, he placed you as an assistant on one of my cases 'cause you were an intern at the time and he thought we could connect since we were both young. Of course, I was also pretty talented. Don't mind me tooting my own horn, but… yeah. You were incredibly awestruck." Diego smirked. Mia raised an eyebrow.

"Really, Mr. Armando?"

"Call me Diego, kitten. Please." Diego popped his neck and took a sad breath. He remembered her sitting next to him in court and looking at her smooth, cream skin. Cream for his coffee, he remembered thinking later. But how could he say something so stupid now? "We worked together as a team of defense attorney and defense attorney in training, and it worked. After six months of interning, you took the bar, and you passed with flying colors, so Grossberg hired you on as a defense attorney. After that, you began teaching me things. You taught me how to treat clients with respect. You taught me how to love."

Mia leaned forward. "Diego…!"

"Yep. I've been with plenty of women before, I'll admit. But you were the only one that was special. I was there for your first trial, the trial of Terry Fawles. You know what happened to him, don't you?"

"He…" Mia sat back, glancing away, eyebrows coming together. "He was testifying about an event that happened before the crime he was accused of, and he drank some poison because he didn't want to lead authorities on to girlfriend. He died right there, didn't he?"

Diego nodded slowly. "Yes. He drank the poison via my coffee. He'd wanted water but all we had to offer was coffee for the poor man."

Mia glanced back down, a pain crossing her features. Diego was sure a pain had crossed his features as well. It was at that moment that Phoenix re-entered the room, holding two cups of coffee and bearing a tired look of resentment. Sitting back down, he handed Mia her coffee. She took a sip and placed it on the bedside table, and Diego noticed a slight tremor in her fingers. She whispered a simple, "Thanks, honey," before turning back to Diego and asking, "What happened after that?"

Diego scratched his cheek. "Hmm… I believe it was the next day you were upset about the events, and obviously I was, too, so Grossberg let us take half a day and I asked you out for drinks. While we were out we made a pact to catch the real culprit, Terry Fawles's girlfriend, Dahlia Hawthorne. That was also when we agreed that we cared a little more about each other than friends do." Diego cleared his throat, glancing over at Phoenix, who was busy fiddling on his phone. "I ended up bringing you over to my apartment. After that we were inseparable, both in the workplace and at home. Those vacation pictures you have of us in the tropics? We went all the way to Hawaii. We'd gotten back only a week before I fell into my coma. I was going to develop more pictures that day after work."

Mia, her legs crossed, asked, "Where did they end up?"

Diego grimaced, thinking through his last few memories. "I think they were in my bedside drawer on the digital camera. You can look at them if you want, I mean, if it'll help you piece everything together, kitten."

Mia nodded. Phoenix glanced up to give Diego an icy stare. Diego's lips tightened when he realized he'd never be allowed to stick a foot up the guy's ass.

"What else?" Mia asked. "What happened on our vacation?"

Diego felt a great sadness press down on his body again. There was something he absolutely couldn't tell her, not now, not while that _man_ was in the room. Instead, he chose to talk about things he knew wouldn't breach that subject. "We went snorkling. Spent a day with the natives, learning about the culture and history there. I remember there was an older man there who'd been retired for a long time and said he'd never seen a happier couple. He wanted to take a picture of us. He was very nice."

Mia nodded. "I see…"

"Now it's your turn, Kitten," Diego said. "Tell me how you got your head injury and why your fingers tremble and how Mr. Wright here let it happen."

Phoenix glared at Diego. "A man named Redd White broke into Fey and Co. when he heard that Mia was going to be pressing charges on him for blackmail against your former boss who, by the way, was the reason why her mom had to leave Kurain Village. Grossberg leaked that it was Misty Fey who did the channeling in the DL-6 case and Redd White found out and started blackmailing him. I was the one who used this to prove that Redd White attacked Mia, knocking her into a five day coma, not her own sister, by the way. You're welcome."

Diego ground his teeth together, fighting back a flurry of curse words. "I don't think I asked you anything, Trite. But while you're at it, wanna explain why you let something happen to such a complete and wonderful woman?"

Mia threw her arms up. "Diego, Phoenix, stop! First of all," she looked at Diego, "I don't need anyone to protect me. Second of all," she turned to look at Phoenix, "you need to be more appreciative. I refuse to let you take this moment down the toilet because he used to be my boyfriend. This is something I've been trying to do since I got hit. _I need to fill in the gaps!_ Why can't you just be happy for me, dammit?!"

Diego snapped, "Correction on the boyfriend thing. I wasn't gonna mention it because _he's_ here, but I proposed to you the night before we left Hawaii!"

_What?!_" Both Mia and Phoenix looked like they'd seen ghost.

Yeah!" he spat back. "I gave you a hyacinth because I didn't want to pressure you in front of friends with a ring. We were gonna go ring shopping that weekend we got back!" He felt a few tears welling up behind the mask, but he refused to break down. Not now, not yet. "You met my mother - she was in a coma just like I was, and she squeezed your hand when I described you to her. I told her your face lit up like the sun when you smiled and it sounded like wind chimes when you laughed, and _I love you, dammit!_" Diego felt a surge of anger pulsing through his heart. He felt alive, and it felt terrible, like salt poured into a gaping cut. "And now you're with _this_ clown and you're having his kid and it just _makes me sick_ that I wasn't there to stop this!

Phoenix turned to Mia, "_Youtoldhim?! YoujustmethimwhatthefuckMia!_"

Mia put her hands over her face, took a deep breath, as Diego retorted, "Hell yeah she told me cause I saw the way you're treating her like _shit!_"

Phoenix stood and leaned over the bed, pointing one finger at Diego, eyes only slits as he hissed, "You watch your mouth, you freak show, or I might put you into another coma. I fucking _love_ Mia so you can just get out of our life now."

Diego hissed back, "If I had my feet I wouldn't hesitate to stand up and smack the shit out of you right now you goddamn prick."

Phoenix stood tall, turned away, and said curtly, "Come on, Mia, he's told you all you need to know."

One long ragged breath made its way out of Mia and she stood up. Her eyes were soft and wet with tears, and they looked at Diego with all kinds of emotions swimming, questions brimming and moving and living within her heart. She asked quietly, "Will you take off the mask so that I can see your face?"

Diego nodded and quickly slipped the contraption off of his face. She became a blur and Diego looked to find that indeed Phoenix had been wearing a tie, but it was red. Was this one of the imperfections of the mask they had mentioned? He couldn't see Mia's face anymore and it made him uncomfortable. After a few moments of heavy silence, Mia said, "You can put it back on if you want."

Diego grunted and put it back on. As the world around him came into focus, he saw a few tears slipping down her cheeks. He looked over to Phoenix, whose arms were crossed. "You take good care of her, you hear me, Trite? As soon as I'm out of here I'll be checking in, you understand just how special she is, don't you?"

Phoenix glared at him from the end of the bed. "You won't be doing any such thing. Come on, Mia. We're going. We have to go ring shopping today."

Mia nodded. Her mouth curled downwards as she struggled to get out, "Goodbye, Diego." Covering her mouth, she turned away, and Phoenix wrapped an arm around her. As they exited, Phoenix took one last icy look at Diego out of the corner of his eye.

Diego sat in his bed as the revelation that that just happened began to sink in. Mia's coffee, forgotten, still sat at his bedside, steam rising softly just as Mia once had in the early morning. The first few rays of light were becoming visible from outside of his window, and he remembered what felt like just a week ago he was laying next to Mia in bed in Hawaii, a red hyacinth sitting on the dresser next to her. She'd been so beautiful in just a shift and her hair falling just above her waist, thick and chocolate in color. He'd taken a deep breath and smelled the sea air on her soft skin and he'd known that a year from then he'd be sleeping next to her and they'd still be just as in love as they were now.

But it was now five years later. Mia couldn't remember anything about him, she was pregnant by some man who didn't know just how amazing she was, and she'd lost the light in her eyes. She was no longer the sun rising over the bay outside of their window, streaks of green and yellow hitting the water. He was no longer part of her life. He was no longer coffee to her cream. He was just some… some cripple, laying in the hospital bed, some February morning, five years older, blind and lost in a sea of sadness and anger and hatred. Frustrated, he grabbed the abandoned coffee next to him and threw it at the wall, yelling. The stuff he loved was what got him here, the woman he loved was what got him here, and now… Now what!?

The tears finally began to flow as he screamed, "_What am I supposed to do now?!_" He pulled the mask off of his face and flung it as well, screaming, "_Fuck that mask, fuck this whole hospital!_" He ripped the tubes from out of his arms, ripped the oxygen from out of his nose, and began attempting to climb down out of the bed when a nurse came in, scrambling to get him back into bed. Eventually he gave up and resigned himself to sobbing openly on the bed, repeating, "Why'd she let me live if this was the life I was gonna have? _Why?_"


End file.
